Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Monday refused to rule out turning to China’s military to quell pro-democracy protests that have been raging for weeks, as demonstrators defy a ban on face masks that went into effect last week.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the NBA stands accused of bowing to Chinese censorship, after the pro basketball league apologized for a tweet by a Houston Rockets executive in support of Hong Kong protesters. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted the message “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong” — then quickly deleted it as China’s state broadcaster said it would suspend broadcasts of preseason NBA games.

In related news, Chinese authorities have banned the long-running cartoon “South Park” after Comedy Central aired an episode mocking Hollywood for tailoring U.S. films to please Chinese censors. South Park’s co-creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker issued a fake apology on Twitter, writing, “Like the NBA, we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts. We too love money more than freedom and democracy.”